Well sailor, I am sure you can still teach dudette a step or two. By the way, I just love her spirit. Would have loved to party with her in the good old days. Right now my movements don’t come that easy.

Have not wanted to distract the focus from re-electing the President and as many Dems as possible, but now that great victories have been achieved it seems ok to draw your attention to this important report on Syria:

“After a long time of planning, the revolutionaries are now mainly reorganised to one group, split into different fronts across the country. I have joined the northern front, but the most important one is the southern front where all of the units of Horan have united into one and shelled the presidential palace as a show of force.

Some things I was told about this reorganisation:
The new organisation has no political affiliation, it is preparing for the final phase of Assad’s regime and to serve as the transition army after during the free, democratic elections. After this a normal army will return.
The big aim is to make one united group fighting for a democratic Syria, not hundreds of battalions fighting for different political, religious, personal agenda etc.
This would mean we would receive better weapons like artillery guns and anti-tank missiles.
The shows of force like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q4Ue3l7AE0 will make more and more units join these fronts as they see the benefits and eventually nearly all units will be united.
Assad is expected to fall by the end of the year but it will be very violent, we have not seen anything yet.”

Don’t know if anyone noticed, but the Joe Biden standing behind the President earlier today as the President informed the GOP he was done with their foolishness, was very stern. He smiled when the President mentioned getting some sleep after campaigning and when the President removed the pen from his coat pocket, but other than that he was like stone serious. They know they have massive support from the American people and all the leverage on McConnell and Boehner and they just aren’t going to play.

I noticed that, as well, Bob. The President was determined, as was Joe. They will get it done. Also noticed the President’s use of the word “consensus” today, rather than the scary word “compromise” – which I think is against the rules of the NRA or Rush or Grover or whatever the hell gods they follow on the dark side of politics.

Based on her Twitter account, Miss Paula Broadwell is an army veteran, “national security analyst” MARRIED mom who frequented FOX NEWS quite a bit (based on her tweets) and other MSM to peddle her goods about Gen Patraeus. Some of the folks she followed on Twitter

i have a big scoop for everyone. i have obtained a super secret undercover video of the latest republican strategy meeting in how to make president obama a one-term president. looks like boner’s been hittin the bottle again!

I’m here with my better half. We just watched the Paula Broadwell appearance on John Stewart. She’s bright, articulate and VERY attractive. A love affair seems…………..well, adultory is WRONG but humans are humans….you know what I mean… I don’t know crap about what actually happened or didn’t happen. Not condoning…………but let’s PLEASE not be “SHOCKED” about something like this.

Apparently not. The FBI investigation into a possible national security breach, indicates someone within the Agency requested FBI ‘assistance’. The General is not beloved. He has many enemies within the Agency and the Defense Dept. I’m sure there will be more shit hitting the fan.

He was loved by the military but not the CIA according to the interview with the reporter that is always embedded in Afghanistan or Iraq or somewhere and Rachel has him reporting all the time. Can’t remember his name maybe it is Richard Engel. The investigation is to see if the writer had access to national security info. Also top people cannot be in a position that could lead to being blackmailed as they need to be able to fire others according to those questioned.

i just watched the mittbot’s concession speech, and at the end is the weirdest thing. wifebot comes out first and sort of hugs him while he does not hug her at all!! his arms stay to his side while he does this odd pecking motion (guessing it was supposedly a “kiss”) and nearly knocks out one of her teeth. mittbot then goes on to hug just about everyone else with full arm wrappage, including lyin ryan’s wife. and lyin ryan is a whole other story, as he uncomfortably scratches the back of his head in nervousness as they approach the mittbot and wifebot. i’m no body language expert, but that is so bizarre. the mittbot family is so freakish they make my skin crawl. hopefully this is the last time i ever mention them in my life.

I used to watch the tv show Lie to Me because they had a lot of facial expressions and body language clues in it. I too am intrigued by this. I seem to have a natural inclination in being able to read when people are lying or uncomfortable. I used it a lot in my teacher/parent conferences in my teaching years. Mitt was an interesting study. I was thinking he might be a compulsive liar that doesn’t even know he is doing it as he has convinced himself whatever he says is truth because he says it. Wasn’t that something that Nixon said in those Frost interviews like it is right because the President says so?

“Today, I called Dr. Ruiz and congratulated him on his impressive victory. Dr. Ruiz will do a fine job if he is guided as well by the people of the congressional district as I was. Please give him the opportunity to succeed,” Bono Mack said in a statement posted on Facebook.

Holy Shit guys….look at the second letter on this NY Times article. I don’t know if I’m supposed to laugh or scream at how stupid Petraeus was to leave classified documents somewhat exposed.

MY WIFE’S LOVER

My wife is having an affair with a government executive. His role is to manage a project whose progress is seen worldwide as a demonstration of American leadership. (This might seem hyperbolic, but it is not an exaggeration.) I have met with him on several occasions, and he has been gracious. (I doubt if he is aware of my knowledge.) I have watched the affair intensify over the last year, and I have also benefited from his generosity. He is engaged in work that I am passionate about and is absolutely the right person for the job. I strongly feel that exposing the affair will create a major distraction that would adversely impact the success of an important effort. My issue: Should I acknowledge this affair and finally force closure? Should I suffer in silence for the next year or two for a project I feel must succeed? Should I be “true to my heart” and walk away from the entire miserable situation and put the episode behind me? NAME WITHHELD

UT, the very first professional job I had, several years before I went to medical school, was at the Defense Intelligence Agency as a young Navy Officer.

Please allow me to be very clear – there is no such thing as “classified documents somewhat exposed.”

If there’s even one instance of Petraeus enabling unauthroized access to classified information, he broke the law, big time.

Moreover, the thing most people do not understand about security clearances is that just because you are cleared to see information classified at any level is just step one. You are ONLY allowed access to that information on a ‘need to know basis.’ So, the barrier to access is actually much higher than your clearance.

Bottom line in this situation – a person not cleared to see classified information is breaking the law to access it. And, anyone charged with protecting access to classified information that allows unauthorized disclosure is in serious trouble.

As noted above, what any of these people do with their personal lives is their business and that of those to whom they’ve made commitments.

But, to even have a question that the Head of the Central Intelligence Agency was compromised, let alone compromised himself, that is as serious as it gets.

It’s just very puzzling why this man decided to write about his wife’s suspected affair to a high profile paper like the NYT of all places. Was this a set-up of Patraeus? If you suspect your spouse of cheating, you confront them, not write to a high profile paper with enough details that people can infer who and what…

Hi Hf! How’s life? I’ve been bouncing in and out so often, and missing so much of each thread, that I haven’t a clue how regular TODobots are doing, or even what the real news of the day has been. And this has been my story since election day! I’m in a heavy TOD fog.😉

Hf, ever since I messed up, I’ve been trying to say as little as possible about first so as not to offend. Plus, I also too have been enjoying the victory, so it’s like not much else really registers. I wasn’t anxious per se before the election, yet now I do feel extremely calm. Something good’s in the air and I’m loving the feel of it.😆 :lol;

One of the lasting frames of this whole campaign is how horrendously perverse the Republican party has become. The primaries proved to the world that they are intellectually and morally bankrupt – and really completely crazy – and are somehow banking on skating by on 1950s issues and values, as if the rest of us aren’t firmly familiar with and confronted by all the innumerable challenges of living in the 21st C. I don’t know how anyone who is not a corrupt politician can view them as human beings, let alone presidential candidates. So this election year was really like no other. And I believe it even took President Obama and his very, very able team aback. The boldfaced lies, the condescension, the pride in obliterating some of America’s most cherished institutions, the disdain for middle class Americans. It was a complete horror show. Thank our lucky stars that we have President Barack Obama standing there between us and the abyss. Really, we can’t rest for a moment.

Site suggestion. Starting monday, we will talk about Obama, dems and how to move forward. I am sure the media will distract us with how the mittbot campaign crashed and burned, how there is infighting in rethugs camp, ben ghazi etc. And we will know that. We have the 2012 elections to prove them.

So this is the last week of our gloating over the rethugs. We start next week with positive forward.

Hey, wait a minute there, Amk! **I** haven’t gloated yet! I was taking this week to fully enjoy the victory while delegating GOP to the back of my mind. My gloating was slated for a day or two next week, before putting them on the back burner unless they were in my face. ‘No fair’ not getting my chance to say ‘na nanna na na’.

The whole point is if I take time to gloat NOW it would taint my joy. A victory such as ours deserves an untainted and extended celebration with no encroachment by the opponent. At least that’s how I envisioned it.

Yup. Turning the house blue in 2014 is much more important than 2012 to ensure the rethugs don’t kneecap his lame duck period. 2010 & 2012 have been a big disappointment house-wise and we shouldn’t let it happen again.

We did make some gains in the House this year, however, better than expected (really), but this gerrymandering business has to go. We need to go after more southern states, and I think AZ is also in play in the near future.

I agree with this AMK. On Sunday we are having an OFA open house to meet and greet with peeps that we’ve been working with but I really would like it if these volunteers could form some sort of ad-hoc alliance for grassroots action. Although, it sounds like they might be keeping the OFA structure in tact somehow so hopefully I’ll learn more.

like him or not, he was an extremely highly placed government official, with the highest level of classified information in his care. not funny, which is why it was parodied so perfectly in the most perfect parody film of all time:

yes which makes it scary how the republicans and then so many trusted him without question. I remember how the democrats originally didn’t trust Pertraeus but reluctantly embraced him. I think that the original assessment was correct and we shouldn’t have second guessed ourselves.

so true. 2010 was my first time voting in a general election (citizen in 2009), and I watched in horror as the GOP took over everything because people were mad at PBO that he didn’t fix everything in 2 years. Incredible! Elections have consequences, and I think the American people realized that on Nov 6th.

So true! And if I remember correctly, in 2004 Bush won only 284 electoral votes. In 2000 Bush lost the popular vote by more than half a million votes and barely won the electoral votes, receiving only 272 after Florida was stolen.

It’s mandate nath. End of story. Aside from the prez’s impressive victory, voters even in deep red state like Montana elected a dem senator. MN flipped house and senate to dems. Teabagger thugs like deadbeat joe walsh and punk allen west were ousted. It’s a complete repudiation of the rethugs all across the board.

So true, Amk! The Democratic Senate victories in MT, ND, MO and IN (all red states) was impressive. Although the Dems. didn’t take over the House they gained seven seats. Nov. 6th was a repudiation of tea baggers and the ugly billionaires and millionaires intent on buying the election.

I know what you mean, Theo! She drives me crazy too. I was not very enthusiastic voting for her, but I had no other choice. I have from time to time written to her about my displeasure with the way she undermines the President. She very rarely replies with any substance. On the other hand, Sen. Barbara Boxer always has the President’s back. She is also very fearless in promoting progressive causes.

I’ve written to her, as well. She has never, not even once, responded to a single letter. And, if I’m not mistaken, she doesn’t even have voicemail on her office phones. I may be wrong about that, because I gave up calling her back during the health care days. But, she really doesn’t seem to be in it for the right reasons. I’m glad she kept her seat, but I really hope she retires soon, and let’s someone take that seat who is actually prepared to work for the people – not special interests.

I hope Petraeus is not going to end up being a “pundit” on FOX “news”. That would be highly offensive. I hear he may become President of one of the elite Universities (Princeton, I think). What a mess!

What I’m reading this morning – the affair came out as a result of an FBI investigation into the compromising of Petraeus’ computer. We don’t yet know (and may never know) if truly sensitive information was obtained by the mistress/biographer but the fact that the computer was available enough for her to access it is unconscionable.

Any lesser soldier would be court-martialed over this. So, yes, in our bizarre political landscape there’s a place for Petraeus in punditry or higher education but in my opinion he should live in disgrace the rest of his life. This was lack of judgment to the highest degree, and it should make everyone reflect on what other lapses of judgment he may have committed.

To keep the economy afloat, the White House cut the deals it felt it had to. Many, such as Obama’s agreement to extend all of the Bush tax cuts in 2010, were poorly received by Democrats. Now comes the payoff. The expiration of those cuts and the automatic reductions set to take effect at year’s end—the so-called fiscal cliff—mean that Obama and the Democrats can gain a huge source of new revenue by doing nothing at all. Republican priorities are the ones suddenly in peril. The combination of tax increases on the rich, higher capital-gains taxes, and sharp cuts in defense spending have congressional Republicans deeply worried. To mitigate these, they’ll have to bargain.

///

Going over the cliff would also weaken the Republicans’ greatest point of leverage: renewing their threat to default on the national debt. Right now, the Treasury expects to hit the debt ceiling in February. But if the cliff can’t be avoided, tax rates will rise and government coffers will swell, delaying the date of default—thus diminishing the Republicans’ advantage. Alice Rivlin, the founding director of the Office of Management and Budget and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, says that “as quickly as the IRS began changing the withholding schedule, the date would be pushed back.”

Beautiful deer, coat going gray for winter, just trotted thru my back yard. He stopped right outside our sliding glass door to check out his surroundings, turned and looked at me right in the eye! I waved at him, for some reason. Wanting to show him I’m a friendly? I will never understand the mindset of people who spend a chunk of their limited time on earth shooting and killing these beauties. Teeny weenie penies? Can’t they go bowling instead, something less deadly?

You waved at the deer! That’s so cute – he probably could sense that you were a “friendly”. I don’t understand hunting, either – especially with our abundance of food in the grocery stores. In a related note: someone on twitter posted a picture of a squirrel that had fallen asleep on their porch in a wicker chair, propped up like it was actually sitting in the chair. I couldn’t help but think that the little critter probably sensed “friendlies” at that home, as well. We need to care for these little creatures.

The irony in this election is that we didn’t need Virginia, Ohio (our Firewal) or Florida to win this election. Colorado put us at 272 electoral votes. So when you hear folks say this was a “narrow” victory its total bull. In the end, we had the icing on the cake of winning the “big three”. This was a decisive win! Now we get to legislate the will of the people who voted in the majority on Tuesday for the President’s policies. Our work is not Done, we’ve only just Begun!

I also laughed when I noted that the neighbors across the street had removed their Vote Pro Life and Romney/Ryan signs by 5:20 a.m. the morning after. They either ran out there late at night or real early in the morning to snatch that proof of wrongheadedness off their lawn. Too embarrassing.

Nate Silver at U. of Chgo last night as part of their lecture series, basking in the glow of correctly predicting all 50 states. We can also laugh at all those rt. wingers who spent hours and hours maligning him and his predictions. As it turned out, he was right, and they were wrong—–as usual.

Me, too. I’ve watched it several times. It’s mesmerizing because it’s another glimpse into his personality. And it’s about his vulnerability. He’s wearing his exhaustion and his pride on his sleeve as he reflects back on the journey, the entire journey from his youth to the election and all that it means to him. And it’s a sort of passing of the torch, which makes it very, very emotional. That’s the point where he starts to cry, realizing that he is stepping into a new age and so are they. For all these reasons, it’s very moving and compelling. So you are not alone.

OFA put a lot of emphasis on having us register voters and getting them to the polls in Fairfax (a suburb of DC) and Loudoun County (an exurb of DC) in Virginia. These are very wealthy counties that came out and voted in the majority for PBO. They are highly populated counties and their votes were pivotal in helping the President to win that state.

Since Chips seems to be sleeping it off after painting the town green on tgif….

A guy was on trial for murder and if convicted, would get the electric chair. His brother found out that a redneck was on the jury and figured he would be the one to bribe. He told the redneck that he would be paid $10,000 if he could convince the rest of the jury to reduce the charge to manslaughter.

The jury was out an entire week and returned with a verdict of manslaughter.

After the trial, the brother went to the redneck’s house, told him what a great job he had done and paid him the $10,000.

The red neck replied that it wasn’t easy to convince the rest of the jury to change the charge to manslaughter. “They all thought he was not guilty and, wanted to let him go.”